Alive

Bhagat Singh who was born on this day in 1907 was hanged on 23 March 1930 by the British Government. Just before the hanging, his last moments were reported by his close associate Manmathnath Gupta, who wrote:

When called to come along, Bhagat Singh was reading a book on Lenin. He kept reading, ‘Wait a while. A revolutionary is talking to another revolutionary’. After he finished, he flung the book towards the ceiling and said, ‘Let’s go’.

Imagine the fearless personality. But it is pertinent to note that the fearlessness was not out of recklessness. There was a deep understanding born out of a thinking mind. He had an appetite for reading and writing. Remember also that Bhagat Singh’s life was curtailed before reaching 24 years of age.

 His life has been an inspiration for many, more so for those who read his writings. He wrote for and edited Urdu and Punjabi newspapers. He wrote pamphlets, essays and in jail, he wrote a dairy. His thoughts reveal his clarity towards taking responsibility for changing the negative situation.

 We must learn from Bhagat Singh’s resolve to finish an unfinished task - the reading of the book - before happily marching to the gallows. Even when jailed and certain to be executed, he read as much as he could. He left behind a corpus of written legacy as his choice of reading material was diverse.

 Bhagat Singh showed the way to stay alive, even when facing death. When walking to their death, Bhagat, Rajguru and Sukhdev went singing and smiling. They embodied Bhagat Singh’s quote, ‘They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas!’ And they remain alive in their ideas as written by Bhagat Singh!

Beyond raising empty slogans by dull rote

Be alive to ideas that Bhagat Singh wrote!

 ~ Pravin K. Sabnis